Rebuilding Ukraine

Clearing Landmines

and other hazards of war

Ukraine is now the most heavily mined country in the world. There are over 100 different hazards of war, ranging from mines buried beneath the ground and in the waterways, to grenades, and improvised explosive devices. They’re scattered across an area the size of Florida in a country the size of Texas. Estimates are that it will cost several decades, tens or hundreds of billions of dollars and countless injuries and deaths. 

These hazards will be a major factor in the return of refugees. Many left because their livelihoods depended on agriculture. These hazards are also polluting the water and soil. Ukraine’s soil is so fertile, it has name, Chernozem or black soil. Before this war, Ukraine was a core source of affordable food for the Global South. The disruption of agriculture fueled global inflation, and food insecurity for millions. The Luce team is working to orchestrate the implementation of a range of synergistic innovations, delivering orders of magnitude to map and clear hazards of war. 

 Luce will contribute to agility and resource optimization. It will be able to analyze weather data and re-route flight paths of reconnaissance vehicles away from weather conditions like high wind or precipitation that will compromise image quality. It will also be enable leaders to redeploy critical resources in real time in response to changes in strategic priorities. Finally, Luce will orchestrate the efforts of the hundred plus NGOs, multilateral organizations, volunteers, federal, state and local entities. This will maximize the impact of scarce resources. Real time status and actionable insights will be relayed to decision makers at all levels of government and among Ukraine’s supportive allies. White Paper

Press

green, energy efficient, turn-key infrastructure

Rebuilding will be monumental, with interdependencies surpassing the optimal processing capability of human minds. Luce will disrupt how donor and multilateral organizations operate, addressing their greatest challenges and enabling them to coordinate with one another for outsized and ever-evolving impact, which they will be able to quantify in whole new ways. 

In 2022, subject matter experts at the World Bank, USAID and the United Nations communicated an urgent need for turn-key infrastructure; the ability to deliver a fully operational hospital or a school with utilities, supplies, staffing, etc. They want to be able to build green.  Under wartime circumstances, that wasn't feasible. They’re vexed by the loss of resources to theft and corruption that are endemic to the environments (wartime and natural disasters) into which they deploy. Finally, they strive to enable revival of local economies, in which the populations served have ownership stakes. Their objectives are aligned with the Zelensky administration, whose raison d’être is to fight legacy corruption and enable prosperity by harnessing Ukraine’s vast natural resources and human potential. In 2022, President Zelensky announced his program of Patronage, establishing international partnerships with local Ukrainian businesses. All of this can be advanced by Luce.   

The Luce team is working in partnership with the European office of the Green Building Council (GBC). GBC, the creator of LEED, maintains standards and certification requirements and has been working on strategies to rebuild Ukraine since 2022. Technologies such as 3D printing can build environmentally friendly, energy efficient buildings of quality and durability at a fraction of the time, cost and complexity of conventional building.

Ukraine has lost unique and stunning architecture that is tied to it's long and rich history.  Some things can't be built the same way again. What we can do is help Ukrainians build sound, advanced infrastructure, beautiful cities and homes that honor their past and contribute to a long, sustainable future. 

deploying displaced persons and veterans with cutting edge skills to job sites

Rebuilding with the most cutting edge technologies and hiring Ukrainians to do the lion’s share of the work will require a first-of-a-kind transformation in capacity building.  

Luce and the ecosystem of innovators it inspires will facilitate assessments of the skills that will be needed, how many of each skill set, where and when they will be needed, down to the specific work sites. The Green Building Council maintains standards, curricula, certification requirements and prerequisites for each job category in green building. Luce will begin with these, translate as necessary, and build on learning modules as needed. Subjects will expand over time and eventually become an advanced aggregator of global best practices certifications.   

Local economic development authorities in Ukraine and social services in countries hosting refugees will identify and recruit candidates with prerequisite skills. Once candidates master these, they will complete certification with experiential learning using virtual reality training tools before being deployed to work sites. Veterans ready to transition to civilian occupations will be able to access assessment, training and career counsellors anywhere they have smart devices and connectivity. Social services in countries hosting Ukrainian refugees will be able to facilitate safe, comprehensive repatriation of their guests. Finally, Luce will curate training in techniques to recognize symptoms of trauma, constructively engage with colleagues, employees and peers, and refer them to resources that will be ubiquitously available. 

The Green Building Council and its peer organizations curate training and certification materials that adhere to EU requirements and standards. Luce will identify the most attractive bidders to build virtual, experiential learning materials that can be hosted in the clouds of participating platforms. Learning materials for highly skilled technical functions will be accessible 24/7.   These capabilities enable training to become highly scalable.  Quality standards will exceed current norms. Total costs will be an order of magnitude lower.   While certifications in the past may have been for set periods of time, these will evolve into a system where they expire as technology evolves. Certificate holders will be notified when this happens and required to upgrade to remain competitive.